PUBLISHING SERVICES MANAGER

PUBLISHING SERVICES MANAGER

JOB INFORMATION PACK

Join one of the

UK ’s leading design agencies

dedicated to

editorial design

Our working environment is really important to us and our studio space is open and light with eating and relaxing areas, air-conditioning, super fast broadband and space to grow for the next few years. There’s also lockable bike sheds and showers for those cycling to work.

WHO ARE WE?

Based in a village just on the outskirts of the old market town Bedford, emc design is one of the UK’s leading design agencies for the publishing industry.

We are passionate about what we do and have built up an unrivalled reputation in producing high-end multi-component (print & digital) resources for international educational publishing markets.

Bedford is a short distance from junction 13 on the M1 with good routes east to the A1 and Cambridge. London, St Pancras is 30 minutes by train.

The centre of Bedford is just over 4 miles from our studio.

OUR VALUES

A first-class company – It’s very important to us that we maintain our position as one of the best editorial design agencies in the UK; not only for our clients and suppliers, but also for our staff.

Constantly improving – It’s the small things that count. By constantly making small improvements we believe we can have a significant impact – on our work, our industry and our community.

Best service – Quality, accuracy and creative excellence are fundamental to providing the best service, and we work hard to communicate clearly with our clients and suppliers.

Our community – From supporting local events and charities to engaging with our industry, community and people are really important to us.

DESIGN

BIG ^WE’RE

AND SMALL…

At emc design, we invest in bringing together the right mix of skills to offer any level of support based on our clients’ individual needs.

ChairmanMike

Sophie

Managing

Director John

Production Manager

We work in small teams, dedicated to individual clients and projects, and being one of the biggest agencies in our sector means we’re able to resource the largest courses and the tightest schedules.

DESIGN & PRODUCTION

unrivalled reputation for forward-thinking creative and editorial design

passionate about quality and technical accuracy

committed to building and maintaining long- standing relationships with clients

CREATIVE CONTENT

built on an established network of trusted suppliers around the world

sourcing engaging material on time and within budget

always up-to-date with our clients’ licensing and market requirements

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

tailored, flexible project management built on great communication managing schedules and budgets unique problem-solving expertise rooted in trust and experience

Design Dale

Manager

Jordan

Designer

Lindsey

Senior Designer

Joanna

Junior Designer

Katie

Designer

Graduate Esme

Junior Designer

Duncan

Design Manager

Helen

Designer Abigail

Designer

Amy

Senior Designer

Kate

Senior Designer

James

Junior Designer

Kristina

Design Manager

Rebecca

Designer

Graduate Beth

Junior Designer

Josie

Junior Designer

Eduardo

Designer

PUBLISHING SERVICES STUDIO SERVICES

Business Ben

& Studio Administrator

Sarah

Production Editor

Michael

Art Buyer

Janet

Assistant Production

Editor

Lucy Art Buyer Production Liz

Editor

Alicia

Assistant Production

Editor

Gavin

Design Manager

Hilly

Production Artworker DesignerEmma

Cheryl

Designer Adam

Senior Designer

Katie

Designer

WHO ARE OUR CLIENTS?

Our clients are some of the top publishing companies in the world, and they choose their external partners very carefully.

Clients return to us because we have a team of exceptional people who deliver stunning design, technically accurate files, and exceptional creative assets, on budget and to deadline.

We are proud to include as regular clients those listed below. Our intention is to grow this list over the next few years and the Publishing Services team is very much part of that process.

“ Publishing is a fast-moving business that thrives on creativity and collaboration.

With over 100,000 books published each year in the UK alone, publishing contributes more to the British economy than any other creative industry. ”

Anna Faherty, Senior lecturer

MA Publishing Programme, Kingston University

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS PEARSON EDUCATION BALBERRY PUBLISHING MACMILLAN EDUCATION PALGRAVE MACMILLAN CENGAGE AND NATIONAL

GEOGRAPHIC INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION PRESS REDNOVA

LEARNING FOLENS PUBLISHING KOGAN PAGE HARPER

COLLINS RICHMOND ENGLISH (SANTILLANA) ILLUMINATE

PUBLISHING SERVICES MANAGER JOB DESCRIPTION

Main Purpose of Job

The Publishing Services team are an integral part of the company, who's core role is to support our design teams and provide supplementary services. The role of Publishing Services Manager is to oversee and contribute to this department’s day-to-day needs. The role is responsible for bringing the non- design tasks within the studio together, ensuring all aspects of these elements (editorial production, quality control, art-buying, photo research and project management) are delivered on time, to budget and with emc’s exacting standards for quality. The role encompasses a business development side where there is an expectation, along with other senior managers, to contribute to the business performance team and to identify areas of potential improvement.

Main Duties of Job

The main responsibility of this full-time position is to manage and contribute to the team responsible for supporting the design teams within the studio and for managing the project management services.

General

To have an understanding of each non-design job function and task within the studio; art-buying and commissioning process, photo research and licensing, proof corrections, editorial production, audio commissioning, typesetting and project management.

Ensuring that everyone in the team is working towards 100%

accuracy, efficiency and is maintaining quality standards.

When required, helping with the day-to-day tasks of

supporting the design teams with proof checking, art-buying, picture research, project management, scheduling, etc.

You will be expected to keep an accurate record of time spent on the projects you and your team work on, both in a manual diary and using our studio management system.

To work with senior managers to ensure the department is working profitably and generates an income/revenue stream, including being responsible for invoicing out the department’s time/services.

Commissioning of external suppliers

To manage the procurement, contracting, quality and standards of external suppliers, including assessing and evaluating their suitability and ongoing performance.

To build on the existing network of external suppliers, looking for new business avenues and determining what goods, services and people we need to work with.

Suggesting improvements, where necessary, and working with Production Manager to ensure department working to maximum efficiency using the right tools and software.

Liaising with designers and production staff for the supply of design work for packaged projects.

Ensuring costs, procurement and spends are recorded accurately, key information is relayed to managers and costs are kept within budgets.

Looking at new services and how these not only become useful to our clients, but also increase revenue and profit within the Publishing Services department.

Account management

Developing relationships with existing clients, working with them to gain feedback on how we can improve what we do, as well as looking for more work.

Winning of new business and people to work with, attending networking events, engaging with industry related people at trade fairs and events/conferences and through social media.

Talking with clients, prospects and people in the industry (plus general research and knowledge) to see how the industry is changing and how this impacts the department, including how we work with new suppliers and offer new services. Using this knowledge to work with other senior managers to plan and develop the overall business. Seeking opportunities, where possible, for us.

Systems and processes

Analysing and developing the systems/processes we already have and looking at ways to maximise their efficiency alongside the design and production workflows. Including understanding our in-built systems to improve efficiency and workload planning.

Working with the Production Manager and others to effectively schedule and plan workload, and assess where Publishing Services resources can best support the design department and ongoing projects.

Making sure the department is profitable and sustainably develops its own revenue stream, e.g.

looking at assets and how these could be maximised, revenue from project management and packaging, new and existing services.

To ensure there is full understanding of the workflow and to make staff accountable for day-to-day work and to better plan for future resource utilisation

.

Analysing the job functions of team members and using this to inform a strategy for growing the

department when required by recruiting the right staff, assessing changing working patterns and identifying new skills and functions within the department.

Involvement in bringing in new recruits, inducting them, training them, providing on-the-job feedback and development. Including identifying ongoing training needs and areas for them to improve and develop in.

The Publishing Services Manager is responsible to the Production Manager

SPECIFIC COMPETENCIES – PUBLISHING SERVICES MANAGER

Competency description Importance

(0–10) Competency description Importance

(0–10)

Financial

Assertiveness and skills to negotiate costs / budget discrepancies and estimates. K/S/A 10 Awareness of financial aspects of procuring work from external suppliers. K/S 10 The acumen to develop financial awareness and accountability within the department

and the functions and people within it. K/S/A 10

Strategy and account management

Personal communication skills. Responding quickly to clients, good tone of voice and

personable face-to-face behaviour. Ability to get people to like you. S/B 10 Knowledge of sales/account management techniques – how to build business

relationships and trust; systemise regular contact to maintain relationships; familiarity with CRM systems and the aptitude to record client conversations and activity accurately and regularly.

K/S/A/B 10

Ability to think strategically. To assess the needs of the department in the context of staffing, changes in the industry and clients and to suggest how the company might best adapt and meet the challenges.

S 10

Ability to contribute to the successful running and sustainability of the company

through representation at senior management level. A/B 8

Job specific skills

Ability to manage multiple, complex projects, including multiple stake-holders (internally and externally). Familiarity with using Project Management software to do this.

A/K/S 10

Understanding of the editorial process through past experience. K/S 8 Aptitude in InDesign (preferably to an advanced level but training provided.) K/S 6 Tenacious attitude and obsessive eye-for-detail when applied to (100%) accuracy in

carrying out and checking editorial corrections and spotting inconsistencies of design elements of work in production.

S/A 8

Familiarity with using the internet for research – to assist in finding pictures for published material or for background material on the industry to increase our market knowledge.

K/S 8

Ability to be self-critical in the interests of improving in all areas of the job role. A/B 8

An advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office. K/S 9

Awareness of contractural and legal obligations when gaining rights and permissions for assetts, for both us and our clients.

Experience of using Macs – trouble shooting, font issues, etc. K/S 6

General

Excellent communication skills, in both written and verbal communication.

A fluent command of the English language is necessary. K/S 10

To be self-motivated and able to work unsupervised. B 10

Excellent organisational skills – the ability to monitor progress in production to keep within budgets and to manage multiple complex projects

successfully.

S 10

Ability to understand a brief – an analytical approach with an understanding of the financial aspects – to be able to identify elements that might have a cost or resourcing impact on the company.

K/S 10

Can-do attitude with a willingness to do everything necessary to get the job

done. A 10

Time management skills – keeping a diary (manual and electronic) and

being effective with your own time. S 10

Team Player – the ability to work and contribute to the whole team. A/B 10 Managerial skills – the proven ability to motivate and manage staff in a team

– being rigorous in maintaining the performance and quality levels of staff.

Dealing with staff in a calm, considered and level-headed way.

S/A/B 10 Managerial skills – Proven track record of HR obligations, appraisal and

coaching/mentoring techniques. S/A/B 10

A personable character to help develop good relationships with clients and suppliers to the benefit of the company; and able to get on with other staff with a collaborative approach to working.

A/B 10

Knowledge of the Publishing industry and understanding of current issues

facing the industry. K 6

Ability to problem solve (technically & creatively) – not to give up in the face

of difficult challenges. K/S/A 8

To contribute to the successful running and sustainability of the company. A/B 10 A full UK driving license would be an advantage but not essential. S 5 K = Knowledge S = Skill A = Attitude B = Behaviour

PUBLISHING SERVICES MANAGER APPLICATION PROCESS

1 Please send a short covering letter (one page max) outlining why you might be suitable for the job and your CV to:

[email protected] by Friday 4th October.

2 We will compare your details against our job criteria and if we think you would be the good fit, we will then contact you and invite you to the next stage of our recruitment process which will be to complete our online application form.

3 Suitable applicants who meet the person specification will be invited in for interview.

Our interview process will be with a (Director-level) interview panel with a full conversation about the company, the role and our aims for the Publishing Services Department and the company as a whole. There will be a tour around the studio, then questions that are job-specific as well as questions that are about your own personal situation (based on the information supplied in your application form).

We will then finish the interview process with some short

competency tasks that reflect the type of work the job comprises.

EMC Design is an Equal Opportunities Employer.

Please let us know if you need any assistance with your application.

Best of luck with your

application

emc design ltd 1– 3 Highfield Court Highfield Road Oakley Bedfordshire MK43 7TA T 01234 889 255 E [email protected] W www.emcdesign.co.uk @emcdesignltd